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Vegan Food Haul!

27 January 2011

Well hello there! I'm just sipping on some Dr. Stuart's naturally caffeine free tea that will hopefully cleanse and purify my skin from the inside out! Hahaha, let's see if it works!

This is just one of the many purchases we made from the health food shop today! It's part of our new "experiment" that my fiancé and I have decided to do. Last night we did a lot of research on vegetarianism, veganism and going dairy and meat free. We watched a lot of YouTube videos, but the ones that stood out to us the most were the Bill Clinton one and this video of Alicia Silverstone talking about her book, The Kind Diet. What we understood from all of this was that vegans tend to feel better, live longer, have more energy and are all-round healthier than people who eat meat and dairy. Whether this is actually true or not, we both honestly don't know. So we thought we'd try it for a day, see how we felt and then attempt to go vegan for one week. After the week is over, I'll update you guys and let you know how I feel!

I want to make it clear though, that I am NOT doing this to lose weight. Jonathan and I are just doing this to see if it makes us FEEL better and healthier! If it works, that's great but if it doesn't suit us and we don't see a difference, then we'll stop! I'm up for the challenge though, and I think this will be a fun experiment! My biggest challenge will be the dairy. I love cheese so that will be the hardest to give up! Jonathan's biggest challenge will definitely be meat. He loves eating meat but he doesn't really like dairy products anyway. I don't eat a lot of meat. If we could combine the two of us, we would have the perfect vegan, hahaha!

So first off, we stopped by our local farmers' market and bought some hummus, semi sun-dried tomatoes, red and green chili sauce and a jar of apple chutney. We had a lot of fun tasting everything when we got back and Jonathan was amazed by how much he liked the hummus! For lunch, we had bagels with hummus and sun-dried tomatoes...YUM!

After lunch, we ventured into Holland & Barrett, the health food shop and picked up a few goodies!

We picked up two different types of Dr. Stuart's naturally caffeine free tea. Jonathan got Echinacea and I got the Skin Purify one.

Jonathan got some Hemp protein powder to put in his smoothies for breakfast.

I got some of these 100% raw Nakd bars, which are SO amazing!! Unfortunately you can't buy them in bulk though :(

Jonathan got some Goody Good Stuff vegan sweets to munch on.

And I got some of my favourite dried fruit - mangoes and apricots! Albicocca! Hahaha!

We then stopped by Tesco (how boring of us!) and picked up some bananas, clementines, soy milk and a smoothie. We actually wanted almond milk but they didn't have any. The Innocent smoothies are for Jonathan's breakfast...these are sooo good and they have nothing but fruit in them!

Oh, and we also found these two lost little pups along our way...hahaha, not!

Watch my vlog from yesterday and help me make a big decision concerning Albi and Sina!

Although I think it may have come across wrong...I was actually talking about both dogs together, not separating them. But anyway...if you watch the video you'll understand :)

Let me know your thoughts on going vegan...I know it can be controversial but I'm curious to know how many of you are vegan/vegetarian and how you feel about it all. Let's see if we can survive this week!!

43 comments

I've been a vegetarian for just over a year now and at first it was a struggle, I got quite ill in the first few days from the lack of iron in my diet. I now love being a veggie! I'm glad to see you are giving it a try :)

I am doing this too! I started it a week ago. Just to see if I feel better, not to lose weight etc.. All your food looks very good.

But that tea looks really interesting..would love to try that. ...on a side note..I LOVE your sleeping beauty mug, I drink my tea out of a mug with Belle on it (From beauty and the beast) so that is fun to see you like that too. :)

Frist of, I LOVE your princess coffee mug...I think I spotted that prior in one of Jonathan your your daily vlogs! I have a good friend who is vegan, and I have eaten at some vegan restaurants in LA and I quite enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing about how it makes you feel!

I have been vegan for 6 months, but transitioning for me took a very long time - maybe 3-4 months from omnivor to slowly cutting out all animal protein.Being vegan doesn't necessarily mean being healthy. For most vegans it is more about ethics. But if you are making an effort to living a healthy vegan lifestyle I would recommend doing it for longer (or at least giving it a try =)) I am not sure if you will be able to see any inprovement in your well-being in just a week. perhaps you will even go through detox at first(cravings, fatique, headaches, breakouts...)I really don't want to scare you, I am so happy you are doing this.And I hope you guys will have heaps of energy! :)

Whoah that was a sudden decision!I've been on and off vegetarian/vegan for a while but tbh I prefer not to put labels on anything.Just experiment and see what makes YOU feel the best. Hope this goes well for ye!x

I'm vegetarian I think since I was a teenager, I never liked meat and the cruelty there's behind it.And it's 6 years that I'm vegan.It's not easy at first because you think there are A LOT of foods that you can't eat, but then you start to cook and you find that it's more easy that it seems.You can still go to yo!sushi and eat veg sushi, or pizza (without mozzarella), or pasta with vegetable (my favourite is with mushroom and courgette cream), soups, risotto....You don't have to go to the health store and buy that expensive crap that they sell ;)

Best of luck with your vegan thing! I don't think I could do that although a few times I have given up meat for lent but my weaknesses are sausages and cheese!( I'm such a podge!) :DWith the dogs in my opinion they might me more distressed by being left behind(possibly less so now there are too...). But especially because they are quite small dogs who need a fair amount of attention. I have a very sociable German pointer who loves being left in places with lots of other dogs but Albi and Sina don't so much seem to be that kind of dog. And I know many people who have found finding places for those kinds of dogs hard. Besides they seem so much part of your family that you might feel wrong leaving them for so important an event.But of course I, or anyone else here, can really only guess at suggestions but I hope you will find the views at least interesting and won't be offended and say unto us 'Flee ye devils who dare to dictate the doings of our dogs!'Not that I can imagine that. (In fact i got a little carried away :))Best of luckxxxx

Becoming a vegetarian over three years ago has been a decision I could never go back on! I absolutely love it...I feel so much better, it's hard to describe. It went from being a choice to becoming apart of who I am :) Really excited for you two to try.

I have been a vegetarian for 10 years and a vegan for 2 years. I will never be a meat eater/dairy eater again. Best decision I ever made. You will go through detox symptoms/cravings at first. It will take longer than a week. Maybe going "cold turkey" isn't the way to go, cuz when you restrict yourself, you may only want it more. When I made the change, all my acne cleared up (dairy gives you acne)and I lost 20lbs, and I just feel HAPPIER! I could literally jump higher, you feel lighter! You two should youtube "Meet your Meat" and read "Skinny Bitch" and "Skinny Bastard"...the books are hilarious, my bf loved it! Best of luck to you both and I hope you continue trying on the veggie diet! <3

Hi Anna! Im a vegetarian for more than ten years and its the best choise I've ever made! Unfortunatelly I live in greece where vegeterians are a rare thing so you cant easily find a variety of goodies for us..meaning if i can do it you can do it too good luck to both of you!

I've always been a bit skeptical about going Vegan. I'm pretty sure that the heightened mood and energy don't come specifically from eating vegan foods, more over from what you are not eating. That's not to say meat and dairy products (because not eating them would be "unnatural") but being vegan limits you eating a lot of processed foods which is probably the source of new found health. That and the psychological effect. I'm interested in becoming a vegetarian but not a vegan. However, good luck with you! It's good that you're doing it together; it'd be awful having to watch one scoff cheese or steak while the other can't.

I look forward to seeing how you go. I'm already a vegetarian but after watching a video on the treatment of unwanted boy calves in the dairy industry I'm keen to give up dairy and have already started cutting down. Like you I do love cheese though so will have to find some alternatives. We have our own chickens so I'm happy to keep eating their eggs.

I think everything in moderation is key to life. I LOVE veggie foods, i love the thought of eating everything from the earth BUT every now and then i just need a little something from the freezer, or the cupboard. As long as we all make daily wise decisions I think we can feel our best. I have the Kind Diet book and i honestly WISH i could eat like she does and live like she does, but it's just not possible for me. I enjoy a nice steak once in a while and i do not want to live without chocolate and sweets :) Good luck with this experiment! Just don't deprive yourself of the things you love because it will sabotage you quickly! Just incorporate tons of fruit and veggies and natural choices like almond butter :)xoxo

I became a vegetarian approx 2 years ago while I was travelling in New Zealand because I questioned why I always felt unusual and never 100% after eating meat and particularly cheese. Seeing as I come from a family of butchers you can imagine how hilarious they all found it! Anyway, my boyfriend who has a congenital heart defect saw me giving it a go and said he'd try it with me and seeing as he was the biggest cheese-a-holic I know I thought he would find incredibly hard. He used to sweat a lot due to his heart condition and within a month his entire way of being and mine had shifted into an entirely different way of living. I read Skinny Bitch and the Fit fir Life book and I can honestly say I have never looked back. I think it's a great idea if people choose to attempt a more vegan and vegetarian diet but be aware that there are vegans who take it quite seriously for ethical reasons and avoid any product whatsoever with animal products in them. A LOT of products on our shelves nowadays contain byproducts of animal products and so unless you are extremely well researched it's hard to know. Overall though I think you're going to find it hard to see or feel the benefits after one day or maybe not even after a week due to the fact that your body is used to a very different diet and will just adjust. Well done to ye both for trying! I praise anyone wanting to at least try something different.

Yea! Kudos to you two! Such fun to try out new ideas for more energy & better health! I've been a vegetarian for quite a few years & last summer I decided to see if I could give-up dairy (I was a HUGE dairy lover!). I went cold turkey and wish I hadn't - after two days I went into a dairy detox & felt miserable for a week :( Now that it's been a few months, I feel much better with no dairy, but initially it was very difficult. I just wish I would have done some more research & gradually eliminated dairy. Just don't give-up :) greater energy awaits!!!!

If Jonathan feel it will be difficult to give up meat, you guys should watch "Fast Food Nation". It's on netflix and online--or do research about slaughter houses. He will never want to eat meat after that!

"If slaughter houses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarians"-Paul McCartney. So True! Good Luck!

Just a suggestion. Albi, if highly motivated (and that bulldog/labradoodle couple would certainly do that)can get over the ledge of your balcony. Perhaps some almost invisible netting might do the trick. Really cute puppies, like Jonathan's morning drive song, and, most important, enjoy your wedding. If you are too stressed out, you won't.

I tried my first year of high school just because I don't like cruelty to animals but it didn't work because my mum made bacon for breakfast...true story.

I do only drink lactose free milk and don't each much dairy because I'm a bit sensitive and cheese is not my favorite; cutting back on dairy while making sure I still get lots of Vit D has made me feel SO much better. I also only eat red meat once a week, mostly because I just prefer seafood from growing up in Boston.

Also as a compromise b/c I still don't like being mean to animals I only buy cage free eggs, etc.

My sister has been a vegetarian for a year and while she likes it she really never ate much meat anyway and I don't see her being healthier than me as she gets sick even more than I do (I think sleep is the answer to health!)

Good luck Anna- I'm really excited to see how it goes for you! Be strong against the cheese :)

When I saw this blog post I couldn't believe it. I have been considering going vegan for a few weeks now and I have been trying to avoid meat. I actually bought Alicia's book and its super interesting. Not only does it help your health but the environment too! I think you need to do it longer than one week to see results, maybe 2. Anyways, I hope it works out. I will officially go vegan when I get enough info on everything and plan out my meals.

Although the vegan diet is a bit too extreme for me, I am interested in vegetarianism.. it's great to be aware of issues relating to food and the whole meat and animal-byproduct industries. I'm really concerned about these things as well, and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about trying vegan foods.

Btw, I highly encourage others to look into cruelty-free beauty products and clothing because there's huge amounts of cruelty in the beauty and fashion industries.. animal testing literally cuts open or injects toxic poisons into dogs, cats, mice, monkeys, rabbits.. and animal goods like leather or fur have similar cruelty stories :\ If you're interested you can take a look at my blogs dedicated to CF issues.

i was a vegetarian for a long time, but moving to Italy changed that as I fell for all the prosciutto and generally the good quality of meat! However, that said, I do make a lot of vegetarian meals...and then have meat on days when I've got a long day of work to keep my strength up...

Congratulations on taking the step of trying veganism! I've been a Vegetarian (by choice) since the age of 5, and have remained one for 13 years. I've only recently been cutting out animal products after I read the book Skinny Bitch that has been mentioned by other commenters. It specifies excatly why animal products are bad for your body, the hardship that the animals go through to produce milk and why our bodies work best on a plant diet. After reading it, I actually felt sick when I went to have cheese, so it's definitely powerful!

hey anna just quick suggestion, would it possible for you or the tech-geek jonathan to perhaps change the links to ones that open in a new tab or window!!! because everytime i click a link on your site, i lose where i was reading at!!! THANKS <3

I've been vegetarian for about 3 years now! I actually became a vegan just over a week ago because I heard that it can clear up my psoriasis, so I'm trying to see if it'll work!I love being a vegetarian but I really don't think I could be vegan for more than a few weeks. I have noticed that I feel a lot better, though, since I can't eat as much of the bad stuff (milk chocolate, gelatin sweets) :)

Dear Anna, I have grown up as a vegetarian, but I think a lot can just be achieved by reducing the amount of meat and dairy which you consume everyday. The weekly protein intake you need can be largely covered with one portion of fish or meat per week, or replaced by combining beans and carbs - plus reducing your meat consumption you're capable of scaling up: instead of eating frankenfurter bagles everyday you might treat you to an organic steak once a week. I think this is an effort everyone can do - plus you don't really want to know what is inside those sausages :)For milk it's really the same thing: adults do not need milk, and almond or rice are quite a decent substitute. I think the effort everyone should do is really just in getting informed, knowing how stuff is produced and investing more time into deciding what goes on our diets. It's a learning process, but it goes all in our health, really :)

i was very surprised and happy at the same time to read this post. i started to eat vegetarian in the middle of december. since i am from germany i read the german version of "eating animals" from jonathan safran foer, which i can highly recommend.well for me i do i for animal and enviromental reasons. feeling better and healthier is not the main reason for me but a very nice side effect and it makes it so much easier :)

I'm 30 years old, married to Jonathan and mummy to five year old Emilia, four year old Eduardo, one year old Alessia and expecting a baby boy in August 2018! We also have six Maltese dogs and our house is basically a zoo.

I used to love fashion & makeup a lot (I still do even if I'm normally covered in snot or milk stains) I've always loved food and I never skip dessert!

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